At the end of last year Qantas Travel Insider held a competition offering 12 guest writers the chance to report on a top Australian holiday destination. Now that they've won, the task is to go on a luxurious weekend getaway and tell us all about it! Here is our first reader on the ground, Peter Mackay, with a tale of Uluru relaxation.
We were a melting pot of global explorers waiting for the Uluru flight: Americans, Japanese, Germans and Australians all chatting and excitedly flipping through our guidebooks. I sat on the left side for the aerial view of the Rock: a solid red mass on the flat desert. Another tourist passed me her camera, smiled and nodded at the result.
Excitement mixed with overheating as we boarded the free shuttle bus to the Yulara resort; high summer is hot and dry. “Drink a litre every hour,” advised the driver. “Wear a wide hat and long-sleeved shirt.”
How did they get here? See the Be a Guest Travel Writer Competition winning entries11 more to go! See the reports filed so far from the winners' travels
Yulara is the only tourist accommodation here, options ranging from campground to luxury hotel. We stopped at the 5-star Sails in the Desert hotel, envious glances following us. Sails in the Desert offers contemporary design that blends naturally into the landscape. Our spacious room with private spa overlooked the blue swimming pool, green lawn, and white ghost gums. Triangular shade sails made an intriguing pattern above the scattered loungers.
On the first night we took the award-winning Sounds of Silence tour. Coach to a remote location, sparkling wine and crocodile canapés as a didgeridoo played sunset down over the Olgas and Ayers Rock. Then dinner in the wilderness, candles the only light. Visitors from four different continents shared our table. A pretty young teacher from Brooklyn chatted as we ate barramundi, lamb, emu, Aussie vegetables and salads. Desserts melted in our mouths. Under more stars than any city dweller could believe, a presenter pointed out constellations and told Aboriginal star tales.
Our dawn Desert Awakenings tour had 20 tourists on a sand dune enjoying coffee, muffins and hot damper bread as the sun rose in splendour. Brenton, our guide, showed us tracks in the sand: snakes, birds, hopping mice and a dingo.
“Ayers Rock/Uluru” read the road sign. We circled the rock, stopping at the best viewpoints and learning about the Aboriginal inhabitants of this difficult environment. Uluru is the local name, made official when the government gave ownership back. Brenton retold a legend, illustrated by markings on the mighty rock walls. “Three morals to every Aboriginal story,” he said. “Navigation, survival and law.” Children learnt vital lessons, a complex pattern of stories and songs guiding them through physical and social challenges. The tour ended at the cultural centre where we saw Aboriginal artists creating dot paintings, inspired by marks in the sand: emu tracks, snake lines, footprints.
The afternoon was all about pampering with treatments at the Red Ochre Spa, where we were massaged into melting blobs of fragrant delight. Dinner in the Kuninya restaurant brought service and cuisine equalling the best. Other dining options abound, right down to fresh food from the supermarket for campground cooking.
The final morning, we turned at the sound of a cheery greeting – our American companion from the candlelit desert dinner. “I’ve learnt so much in Australia,” she said. “I can tell it to my students back home.” My heart melted, thinking of young Americans listening to tales of a strange land. I leaned over and hugged her. “Bless you,” I said. “I’ve discovered my own country here at Uluru.”